Sitting behind the stage curtain, Scootaloo could only lie back in wait for the Big Reveal- yet despite the inherent anxiety of waiting for your preparations to pay off, she felt cool and collected; she looked back at the conversation she had with her hero Rainbow Dash in the interim.

—

“SCOOTS, she strapped you to a firework!?” She yelled in surprise, causing Scootaloo to nod with gusto. “Friggin’ AWESOME! Want me to stick around in case you fall again?” She asked, and the filly gasped!

“YES! I knew I could count on you!” She said, giving Dash a hoofbump as paramedics in the background used mane-clippers to get the tree sap out of her bullie’s fur. Scoots leaned in and whispered- “You’re gonna love the next one- it’s-”

—

“WITHOUT FURTHER ADIEU, FILLIES AND GENTLECOLTS!” The sounds of mechanical whirring and Trixie’s magically-amplified voice snapped her out of her flashback, though the sounds of her bullies' indignant whining towards tree-sap removal still rang like music to her; all the meanwhile the whole stage was being split down the middle using large pistons, pushing up grass at each side of the stage. Scootaloo wondered when the mare stuck a ten-inch crows feather in her hat as she yelled bombastically- “THE FLYING CHICKEN’S TERRIFICALLY TEUTONIC TREBUCHET!”

The crowd ooh’d and aww’d at the large trebuchet, built using metal I-beams for a frame. Scootaloo was holding on to the rope sides of the sling made for her, unable to see the sky above the large weightpan she waited patiently beneath. She stopped to ensure her helmet, knee pads, and cape were in place as soon as Trixie pulled the feather our of her hat with a hoof. “THIS FEATHER IS FAR HEAVIER THAN A TON OF BRICKS: INDEED, IT WILL SUFFICE TO MAKE THE CHICKEN FLY!” She said, climbing a wooden ladder that leaned against the solid metal frame.

“Wouldn’t a ton of bricks be heavier than a ton of feathers though?” Scootaloo asked, receiving an annoyed side-eye in return. The mare dropped the feather onto the metal bucket that was supposed to be filled with rocks. The machine’s arm lurched slightly in response to this sudden weight being dropped upon it, being stopped by the long metal pipe holding it in place.

“WITHOUT FURTHER ADIEU!” Trixie yelled suddenly, causing Scootaloo to hold her breath and take one final glance towards Rainbow Dash… where she fell back asleep atop her cloud, well above the roaring crowd.

Scootaloo shrugged with a grin, preparing herself to fly!

METAL PIPE FALLING SOUND EFFECT
CREEEEAAAAAAKK!
SWOOOOOSH-
AHHHHHHHHHHHH!

She screamed at the top of her lungs, tumbling through the sky uncontrollably and feeling nauseous.

“Snrk-Huh?” Rainbow Dash was awoken by the sound of a metal pipe crashing down on the stage, making her look around in a daze. Her eyes popped open- “Crap! Which way did she go!?” She muttered to herself frantically, a manic look in her eyes as her head darted in every direction. She finally made eye contact with the trebuchet, gasping in realization at what she was seeing- “That’s like… a slingshot!” She yelled, flying high in the air in the direction she’d assumed Scootaloo went… in the opposite direction.

Back to the filly, she was still soaring across Ponyville! “AHHHHHHHHHHH!” Not flying, but definitely soaring over Ponyville’s majestic town square whilst the pedestrians minded their own business; when she tumbled over the Carousel Boutique, she was delighted to see- “AHH- RARITY, SWEETIE BELLE! HIIIIII!” She screamed at the top of her lungs, seeing one of her bestest friends in the world and Rarity in the middle of re-tiling their roof; It was unusual to see them both wearing utilitarian overalls and gaudy Personal Protective Equipment… but as Rarity puts it, ‘I can think of something I really wouldn’t want to wear- an eyepatch.’

“SCOOTALOO! HIIIIII!!!!!” Sweetie Belle’s voice cracked as she screamed at the top of her lungs, contrasting Rarity’s silent gasp and look of dread while she slid her goggles to her forehead. “BYYYYEEEE! SEE YA ON MONDAYYY!” She waved her friend hello and goodbye in the same breath, her sister finally rolling her eyes in disgust.

“Dear, goodness… that outfit is so tacky!” She groaned and shook her head at the typical generic stuntmare garb. “News flash- Filly Knievel died along with her choice of stuntwear!” She ranted, causing Sweetie Belle to tilt her head in confusion. “At this point, it’s a little disrespectful to shamelessly rip-off even the debased abstractions of her iconic style!” She spoke to no one in particular, sparking the filly’s curiosity.

“Woah… Filly Knievel is real?” Rarity turned and gave her the most dumbfounded look she’s ever given anypony. “Like, I thought she was like… I dunno, like Pinnocchio or something! Made up!” She threw her arms out wide to accentuate her point, all the meanwhile her sister was at a loss for words. “I mean, it’s so… I don’t get it! How can anypony break that many bones and just… be okay? Or at least, what I’ve read about her.” Rarity sat down next to her sister calmly, throwing an arm around her shoulder.

“You had to have been there to believe it, filly.” She said, gazing out at the half-tiled roof. “I got some movies about her, if you’d want to watch them tonight?” She asked, totally forgetting about Scootaloo as she and her sister shared a cheerful high-five.

“As long as you help me with my homework!” Sweetie Belle set her terms firmly, in the middle of a hoof-shake with her sister; Rarity paused momentarily and nodded.

“I accept your plea bargain.” She said, resuming the handshake with a grin. “Let’s get this roof done!” She said, making sure all her personal protective equipment was on and secured. “Sweetie Belle! Goggles, don’t think I’ll ever forget to remind you.” She said with a smirk, pressing her nailgun into the roof.

Tack-ptoo!

Meanwhile, Scootaloo was arching closer and closer to the front-lawn apple trees of Sweet Apple Acres. “AAAAAAHHHHHH!” She yelled, careening closer and closer to the house in a mad tumble; She closed her eyes and threw her hooves over her face as she prepared for the inevitable.

CRASH!
SPLASH!
THUMP, SPLIIiisssshh!

She shattered the window and broke her fall in a bucket full of water, tipping it over and breaking her momentum in the relative softness of a clotheshamper.

“Scootaloo! Ya tipped mop water into mah laundry basket!” Even before Scootaloo opened her eyes, she recognized the voice of Applebloom, letting out a gasp of delight! “Aww… Ah guess it’s dirty laundry anyway… ya broke mah windah!” She yelled as her friend rose from the pile of dirty pink bowties.

“I almost flew!” She yelled as her friend reached into a drawer, tossing a towel her way. As she dried herself off, she asked- “Scale of one-to-ten, how bad was that water?” She asked, feeling somewhat relieved to see a decent amount of soap suds popping on the floor.

“Ah just filled it up- perfect timing, too! Ya could’ve gotten bruised bad if ya didn’t hit tha’ water!” She said, hopping on the bed and gesturing her friend to take a seat- “Applejack’s making me mop the floor since I’m grounded but… eh, Ah’ve been procrastinatin’” She said with a shrug as Scootaloo stood up and shook her head-

“I can’t stick around long- I got a show to get back to!” She declared… but stopped to think, and felt curious. “Actually, wait-” She said, hopping on the bed for a question. “I’ve been meanin’ to ask- you’ve stayed quiet about my involvement?” She asked, receiving a nod and a friendly grin.

“You weren’t at that ice cream truck, plain and simple. No one saw you, I didn’t see you.” Applebloom reaffirmed, causing Scootaloo to chuckle.

“I sure as shoot didn’t get a cutie mark out of it, that’s for sure… even though we pulled it off!” Applebloom’s eyes shot wide open at the revelation that they’d gotten away with the heist of this Spring, and Scootaloo went on- “All of it, presumed missing or munched on- stored away in my Aunts freezer… but when you get out, we’re gonna have to set rules to ration it.” Applebloom nodded in total understanding as Scoots continued- “If we go to school every day with ice cream sandwiches and popsicles in our lunch bags, we’re gonna get found; not to mention, my Aunts’ll inevitably take their cut of whatever they please… and I know those ice cream sandwiches won’t last.”

The red-haired filly nodded along and said- “Definitely… but maybe we can strike a deal with them? Either way, we’re done discussing that here… I hear her hoofprints.” Was all the warning Scootaloo had before-

Knock, Knock, Knock!

“Scootaloo, Ah know yer in there!” the fillies heard Applejack on the other side of the door, both hopping off the bed to greet her. “Trixie called- she said you might’ve landed on tha’ farm!” She had a stern look on her face, sitting down and crossing her arms. “And Applebloom, yer supposed to be grounded. That means no friends over, even if they crash through yer windah!” She scolded her sister, who came to Scootaloo’s defense.

“But sis! Scoots is a guest in our house, ah can’t jus’ kick her out! It’d be rude and unkind and stuff!” Her retort made her sisters breath hitch in her throat, knowing that her sister was using her own rules against her. “Ah jus’ wanted tah let her know I was alright, and I was just about to explain kindly why she has tah leave!” She at least had to hold up the illusion for squeaky-clean behavior for a while, knowing that the private lawyer Twilight hired for them would take care of the whole situation; as far as anyone in the law was concerned, the foal that robbed the ice cream van was a rogue agent.

The two fillies shook hooves before Scootaloo turned towards Applejack- “Say, while I’m here- anypony know what Sweetie Belle is in for?” Applebloom shrugged, hoof-bumping one more time before she began to head out, hearing Applejack chuckling from beside her, unable to see the glare she shot behind her.

“I’ll tell you, only as a way of saying be careful.” she said, closing Apple Bloom's door and leading Scootaloo out. “She started a fire in the attic because she was playing with magnifying glasses in the new sunroof-cutouts.” The filly nodded, immediately wanting to try that out to figure out what she meant by that. “Luckily, all the stuff had been moved out for construction- that’s why Sweetie Belle’s helping Rarity re-tile the roof right now.” Scootaloo grinned.

“Oh, yeah! I waved at her earlier when I passed by!” She remembered, knowing that Sweetie Belle missed out on the heist. “Hey, any way I can get a ride back? It’s a long walk!” She asked just as Applejack grabbed the keys hanging on the wall.

—

Sitting in what was essentially a minecart atop a giant wooden rollercoaster hill, Scootaloo began to rethink how badly she really wanted to fly. She was so high up, she couldn’t hear Trixie over the wind in her ears. Whatever she was saying down there was a total guess to the filly… and the mares hasty instructions ensured that whatever her task was was a guess; all she knew was that her signal to go would be the rings of fire lighting up, all lined perfectly with the ramp at the bottom of her descent. They’d go off and set off fireworks and stuff, and Scootaloo knew that it would surely be awesome… but she had no idea which notch to set the brake lever to.

“Ten notches… I guess they each equal ten percent…” She muttered to herself, thinking back really hard into her (relatively short so far) academic career and gasping! “Wait! When we did the marble rollercoaster, you had to start it down the hill at like… slow speed, so you don’t fly off!”

BOOM!

The sound of fireworks going off made her spring into action, readjusting her helmet and grabbing the lever- “Do… two notches.” the cart lurched forward gently at her control… until the cart started to wobble. She panicked, “Heck with it- SPEED AND POWER!” She yelled, releasing the brake so that the wheels could spin freely- “CRAP, THAT’S STEEP!” She looked down too long, ducking into the cart just in time for it to tip forward on the track.

CRASH!

The tumbling cart barreled through the wooden ramp, leaving a minecart shaped hole on the bottom apex as it punched through like paper. “AHHHHHHHHH!” Her screams confirmed the filly would be alright, and the crowd cheered her on as the cart tumbled along the grass. She could see that most of the crowd was smart enough to make way… except for the two fillies, walking in dresses, carrying cans of pine sap and pillows.

“AHHHHHHH!”
“YAHA-HAAAAAAAA!”
“DARNIT, NOT AGAINNN! NOT THE SAP, NOT THE SAP!”

Diamond Tiara yelled, getting coated in tree-sap and feathers as the cart tumbled wildly with the three fillies in the bucket. Next, Silver Spoon rose her voice-

“HOW DO WE STOP!?” she yelled, giving Scootaloo an idea; she wasted no time in reaching for the carts brake-

CRRRRRK!
CREEEEAAAAAAAAAKK!

The cart skidded to a halt right-side up in the grass, Scootaloo holding on for dear life as she saw them barreling right into a tree-stump!

“AAAHHHHH!!!”
“KYAHAHAAAAAA!”

The two bullies screamed, having been flung out of the cart together the second the front hit the stump; by then, it had lost enough momentum that Scootaloo could easily hold on as they sailed over her head into the field of… “Ohhh, I should’ve played the lottery today.” She smirked deviously, knowing full well what that funky blue flower did. She watched Diamond Tiara stand up, rubbing her eyes with her hooves frantically.

“Diamond Tiara! Have you seen my glasses?” Scootaloo tilted her head in confusion, only putting two-and-two together when ‘Silver Spoon’ Stood up, removing her glasses with a dumbfounded expression.

“Over here, Silver Spoon! They landed on my face, somehow!” She said, removing them and surveying the field. “I got-KYAAAAHHH!” the feathered-filly yelled, seeing herself from across a field of Poison Joke.

“Huh? What’s the matter?” She asked, blinking in realization as Silver Spoon put her glasses on Diamond Tiara; her eyes shot open in shock, realizing exactly what the poison joke did to them and just staring at eachother in fear- they’d switched minds!

“Relax- Just go to Zecora, she’ll take care of it if you can ask her nicely.” Scoots said, returning back to the stage a decent way out of the forest. “Man, good thing we landed on a lumber farm!” She mused while the feathered fillies huffed in indignation.

Author's Note

:3

Scootaloo ain't no snitch :p

Neither is Apple Bloom, as long as nopony gets hurt :3

Sweetie Belle just burned the house down again, no big deal.